Just like brothers, or maybe even greater
by NaughtyZoroBoy
Summary: While Eraqus and Xehanort were training to become Keyblade Masters, one of them caught an illness, partially halting their routine for some days. Until he recovered, they both had some time to think. About themselves and a bit about their relationship.


The sun had set in Scala Ad Caelum. A Keyblade master was having dinner with his two pupils, Xehanort, who mainly dressed in black, and Eraqus, who wore lighter colored clothes. The _darker_ boy had potential, but he was probably too close to darkness. The _lighter_ boy, on the other hand, tried his best to keep darkness away from his heart, but maybe a little too much, just like when he faced any sort of challenges. Darkness, after all, was something that could be found in every single heart, no matter how hard you tried to wipe it out. That didn't mean it could be left out of control, though.

"Are you guys going to bed?".  
For both apprentices, their master was a kind, yet strict person, that wouldn't allow them to party in the night as long as they were studying under his roof. Maturity was a part of their training, anyway.  
"Yeah" Eraqus replied with a short nod. "It's been a long day".  
"Indeed..." Xehanort didn't sound as well as his fellow mate, even though both were kinda tired.  
With a smile, the older man said:  
"Good night. Rest well".  
"Thanks, good night" his pupils both replied at the same time.  
Steps could be heard while everyone left the dining room. The _lighter_ boy looked with some concern at Xehanort, seeing he had brought a hand to his own forehead.  
"Eraqus".  
While the _darker_ boy wasn't already in his master's sight, his companion looked back around, staring at him with curiosity. Walking back to his teacher, he replied:  
"Yes, Master?".

"You know, there is indeed more light than meets the eye... But that applies to darkness as well. Also, both of you still need to learn when to accept defeat, and not push yourselves beyond your limits. Retiring in time is also a way of winning, in some way, and you can't still imagine how much you can learn from a failure".  
"W-why are you saying that?".  
While Eraqus blushed a little, a grin was drawing on his master's face.  
"I'll just tell you walls have ears".  
"You... You've observed our chess games today?".  
The older man silently nodded. Chess was something most youngsters were into those day, and not surprisingly, it was openly disliked by parents and folks that weren't all that young. That Keyblade master was as open-minded as a man from that time could be. However, he also knew very well limits had to be set.  
"It's... interesting to see your attitudes away from the trainings. After all, as defenders of light, you must not bring vices and personal things to the battle, so only your teacher could see what you need to improve well enough to confidently say it, just by seeing you in combat. It does give me a hint of how you might react to things in the real world, too".  
"So... Our games are useful to you, right?".  
"Yes, in a way".

"Thanks... for telling me" the light clothed boy said, making his disciplined pose. "I... should go to bed now".  
"Rest well, Eraqus".  
"Thank you, Master. Good night".  
He slowly walked away from the dining room, trying to associate the way he played chess with his fighting style, just as his Master had probably done by somehow observing their game. That piece of information was just unsettling, even if he tried to think there was some benefit for the three of them. The young boy was also concerned about how Xehanort, his friend, looked when he lost sight of him, even though he didn't really think it would be too bad.

* * *

While the bells outside kept ringing loudly and slowly, Eraqus was leaving his bedroom, yawning as he had just woken up. The other student's room was just in front of his, and he waited patiently for it to open as well. However, after 5 minutes of brushing his messy hair while waiting, it stayed closed. That was strange: the _darker_ boy took some more time to wake up, but not much, usually around 2 minutes as worst.  
"Xehanort?" The pale boy called, knocking the closed door.  
The response he got was heavy coughing. Concerned, the apprentice decided to open the door himself, even though Xehanort didn't like that at all. No wonder why: he was kinda disorganized, and his bedroom didn't have a single piece of furniture without some strange piece of paper on it.  
"You... did have to enter?" The _dark_ guy asked, shivering on his bed.  
"Well, you were taking a lot of time" Eraqus replied, frowning. "But it's okay. You look awful". He put a hand on his friend's forehead, retiring it almost immediately, as if it actually was a frying pan. "Wow, it's so hot. I'd better tell our Master".  
"R-really?".  
"You need a doctor! I'll come back as soon as possible" was the last thing the _light_, energy-filled youngster said before running off from Xehanort's bedroom.

The Keyblade Master was stunned when one of his pupils finally arrived... and seemed to have been in a rush.  
"Something's wrong, Eraqus?" He asked, not wanting to imagine any unsettling scenarios for the moment.  
"X-xehanort is sick! He's got a really high temperature!".  
"Okay, okay, relax" his Master said, noticing the student was rather nervous. "I'll go check him".  
Both the younger and the older man walked back to the missing pupil's room. Even in the hall that led to it he could be heard coughing, and when they arrived, his skin was pale and covered in sweat as he shivered.  
"C-cold...".  
"Xehanort...".  
"Easy, boy" their Master slowly bent down, checking the _darker_ boy's temperature. "A medic is going to come. Eraqus, watch over him, I'll try to be quick".  
"Yes, Master" he nodded slowly.

He kept waiting inside his partner's room, his face showing a big concern, while trying to think of ways of making Xehanort feel better. His only idea for the moment, bringing a wet towel, involved leaving his friend alone for a while, and he was too worried for doing that. Trying not to become too nervous, he kept his eyes locked on him while thinking as hard as he could.  
"Aw, c'mon!" The sick, dark clothed boy exclaimed before coughing really roughly. "It's... not like I'm dying!".  
"That makes me feel barely better, you know?".  
"Just quit the jumping up and down, please".  
Fortunately, Eraqus didn't have to spend too much time watching the other pupil, since their Master and a doctor finally arrived.  
"Eraqus, let's get ready for training" the older man said.  
"But, Xehanort...".  
"He will be fine" the woman confidently said. "Just do your routine with your teacher as always, I'm gonna be taking care of him".  
"Okay, thanks".

The Keyblade Master and his concerned student came back to the dining room, where breakfast had been ready for a good while. As they had lost like an hour or so, they ate a bit more quickly and poorly. Within 10 minutes, they were striking their Keyblades, Eraqus' mind filled with concerns towards his sick friend and what his Master had told him about their chess game.  
"Focus your eyes on the enemy, strike its weak point!" The Master said, moving his Keyblade to the sides.  
Those spots were the ones the student had to hit as strongly as he could, spending as little energy as possible, since he had to strike it as many times as possible.  
"Keep calm and keep going. Don't let fear flood your mind".  
Maybe trying to be way too optimistic didn't do any good, and it just made things last for unnecessarily longer. Perhaps, in no little situations, light couldn't really do anything at all. Maybe a smile and will power was rarely enough for getting a victory. And himself... He probably needed a lot more to become a Keyblade Master.  
"ERAQUS!".

Upon being called, the young boy realized his Keyblade was about to hit his Master's chest. The older man quickly blocked the misguided attack, and knocked down his pupil by hitting that Keyblade quickly and roughly.  
"You can't be distracted when fighting your enemy!".  
"S-sorry, Master".  
The _light_ boy's teacher sighed.  
"You're worried about Xehanort, right?".  
Eraqus didn't dare answer. When that man got angry, it was for a good reason. Not only his friend concerned him, but that chess game, as well, especially after what he had been told about it. The more he thought about it, the more he considered summoning those pieces _from the past_ had been cheating. Xehanort didn't seem too concerned about it, but it could have told something about it: the fact that he sometimes tried way too hard.  
"Listen, boy. I understand the way you must be feeling right now, but worrying isn't helpful for anyone. I might sound cold, but as a Keyblade wielder, you'll eventually find that an ally or someone else has been left behind, injured, and the only thing you'll be able to do is keep moving forward, both for them and the rest. Past mistakes distract you from the battle, and what you should do is doing whatever thing better next time, got it?".  
The Keyblade Master smiled as he saw his pupil nod, albeit somewhat doubtfully, while he slowly got up.  
"Let's keep training, then!".

* * *

Xehanort groaned on his bed, feeling his head ridiculously heavy due to the fever. Fortunately, the doctor, who was now watching him, had determined he would only have to rest and take some medicines to get recovered within days. Even though, the _dark_ boy hated feeling like that: so useless and dependent, to the point he couldn't even be alone.  
"That other boy..." She commented with a smile. "He worries a lot about you. Are you friends? Maybe even a couple?".  
"C-couple?". If his face was hot due to the heat, it had become even hotter because of the embarrassment. "He... just exaggerates. Looks like he's never seen someone with a fever. Other than that, we're just friends... Ugh...".  
"Sorry if that bothered you" the woman mumbled, looking at the sick student. "I simply jumped into assumptions when I saw him so worried. Now seeing two boys as an actual couple is not that difficult. Even though not as common as regular ones, obviously, they aren't as marginal as two girls couples".  
"Eraqus..." Xehanort coughed while trying to respond. "He isn't into such things. He's more into weird chess games".  
"And you play chess a lot? Some other youngsters like you are true experts, you know?".  
By that point, the Keyblade wielder was aware of the fact the doctor was doing her best to keep the conversation going, simply because he couldn't help respond to the _couple_ thing. Eraqus was indeed his friend, but calling him BOY-friend was a bit excessive.

While his own body tried to deal with that horrendous fever, the _dark_ guy felt thoughts flood his mind, not paying attention to the woman's aimless questions and comments. What bugged him the most was the fact that everybody was so incredibly concerned about him as soon as he became ill. Sure, even general diseases could often turn into more severe things, but was he really that weak? Wasn't he strong enough so that those inconveniences didn't really cause a fuss? Did he seriously need help as soon as even the smallest of incidents happened? Wasn't he supposed to protect people, and not the other way around?  
"We're back!" Another young boy could be heard from the hall.  
"How's Xehanort?".  
Yeah, Eraqus and their teacher were back. They had probably been training for a good while by that point.  
"His temperature is still very high, but, if he takes his medicine correctly, as I noted right there" she pointed to a little bottle, which had a note next to it, "he should be recovered in just a few days. Xehanort seems very strong, after all, right?".  
The sick pupil rolled his eyes after that comment.  
"We should go have lunch now" the older man said. "Besides, we barely ate anything in the morning".  
"Okay" Xehanort mumbled, while slowly sitting on the bed and getting up. "Oh boy...".  
"Do you need help?" His friend asked, getting a step closer to the ill student.  
"Oof, Era...".  
That's when the _dark_ boy lost his balance. The _light_ one reacted quickly and managed to grab him quickly.  
"I-I'll be making the meal" the Keyblade Master said. "Oh, and thanks for everything, doctor".

As the woman left the _school_, Eraqus and Xehanort were slowly walking their way to the dining room, mainly because of how heavy the _dark_ boy felt, even for himself.  
"Not... gonna lie" the sick student panted out. "I feel awful right now".  
"If you eat something, I'm sure you'll feel a bit better, Xehanort. But I can't... do everything for myself here. You have to help me...".  
"Oh... Almost forgot about that. I feel so useless right now".  
"You know... I don't think anyone can always be ready for facing challenges" Eraqus commented. "At some point, I'll catch an illness, too, and you'll have to take care of me".  
"Yeah... That's when I'll miss feeling like this".  
Both boys chuckled lightly, as they finally arrived. The _dark_ one was the first one to sit down, still panting and trembling in cold, his forehead throbbing heavily. Their teacher took a look at them while still cooking, their meals far from ready.

* * *

The light clothed boy was pouring a white liquid on a spoon, while his friend, still feeling quite ill, sat on his bed with an unsatisfied face. And not because of the temperature.  
"Let me take my time, okay?" Xehanort asked.  
"You have to take it, that's what the doctor said" Eraqus reminded the _dark_ boy.  
The sick pupil sighed as that spoon approached his mouth, making a face.  
"Let's make it quick, shall we? I have some water handy for you when you're done".  
He eventually nodded and engulfed the spoon quickly, swallowing its content as fast as possible while cringing heavily.  
"Some water, please".  
The other student handed the bottle of water to Xehanort, who drank from it desperately.  
"That wasn't very pleasing, was it?".  
Eraqus chuckled lightly as he saw his friend doing that. In situations like those, he could end up being... kinda cute.

"Well... I can't deny the fact that... I feeling somewhat better now".  
"See?" The _light_ boy chuckled. "It's worth it, in the end".  
"Oh, yeah. I will remind this to you when you get ill, you know?" The dark clothed guy replied.  
They both laughed, even though Xehanort didn't laugh for a long time. He still needed to rest.  
"I'd better let you alone now, right?" Eraqus commented, somewhat nervously.  
"Yeah... Never liked anyone looking at my mess".  
The sick pupil coughed as his mate was walking out of his bedroom. However, after some seconds, he came back in.  
"Er... Xehanort... Just one more thing".  
After a sigh, he asked:  
"What now?".  
"S-sorry about... what happened yesterday".  
He took a while to figure out what the healthy boy was talking about.  
"You mean... the chess game? Pft, that was to be expected from you, honestly. No one would believe darkness had won, anyway".  
While Eraqus looked at his friend, puzzled, the _dark_ boy chuckled lightly.  
"So... you're not mad at me?".  
"Nah... Darkness also gets its wins in every battle".  
"Oh, if you say so... Well, I'll be in my bedroom. Call me if you need something".  
"Got it".

The Keyblade wielder who wore those light colored clothes spent the rest of the day in his bedroom, thinking about his ill friend, as their Master preferred him to be close to the other student. He still could remember his first days with Xehanort. When that _dark_ boy arrived, they felt like... whatever. But as soon as they found out they both liked chess, they began talking and eventually became like two peas in a pod. Their personalities were quite different, but that turned out to glue them together even more firmly: they helped each other with their tasks, trained difficult moves together... Heck, even when they went out and went beyond their Master's rules, they faced the music together and covered each other if someone had done something that was really wrong. They were just like brothers. Or maybe something even greater.  
"I wish I knew how to help you, Xehanort...".

The sick student, even though he felt better, still was kinda weak. It was a sensation he hated, but the more he thought about, the more he realized it was fear what came to his mind when thinking about the condition in which he was. It probably was the same fear anyone would feel if they couldn't control (their) darkness, not even face it at all. If he ever wanted to further investigate all those stories surrounding Keyblades and the limits beyond light and darkness, he needed to both get rid of those dreads and become stronger. Strong enough so that he could control darkness at will.  
"Eraqus! Xehanort! We'll be having dinner in 5 minutes".  
"Coming!" Eraqus could be heard from his bedroom.  
Their Master had just called them. His friend was probably already out of his bedroom, while he slowly got up. Even if his temperature had decreased quite a bit, it still was a struggle for Xehanort to stand, but at least he could more or less walk normally without losing balance.  
"How are you?" The other student asked him as soon as he closed his door.  
"Better... I think...".

The _light_ boy was smiling a bit strangely, which kinda surprised the _dark_ one. His light blush didn't help a lot, either.  
"What's up?" Xehanort asked, confused by his friend's bizarre face.  
"Er... Have you ever... set your eyes on a pretty girl?".  
"Maybe...".  
"Have you ever wondered how a kiss would feel?".  
The ill student's eyes didn't know very well where to look at once he was asked such a thing. They were quite a bit old for that kind of talks, not to mention both of them would be lying if they said they hadn't tried flirting with someone. Still, what Eraqus had to say further stunned him.  
"Would you... like to try it?".  
"I see no...".  
The _dark_ boy's words stopped flowing out as soon as he noticed his healthy mate's blush becoming more noticeable.  
"You're kidding, aren't you?".  
The _light_ one slowly shook his head. Xehanort thought about it for some seconds.  
"What the heck, I guess giving you some of my viruses won't be a huge deal".

While his friend slowly walked to him, Eraqus actually leaned in and kissed his lips softly. The sick student wanted to end after just some seconds, but the other one didn't break the kiss. In fact, he was trying to kiss a bit more deeply, which made Xehanort panic and break the kiss sooner than the other pupil would have preferred.  
"Ugh... Weird...".  
"You didn't like it, did you?".  
Both boys had a dark blush on their faces after that strange kiss. It definitely wasn't something they were used to. Without realizing, that had just changed something in their relationship.  
"Please don't do that again.".  
"Can't do any promises".  
"Eraqus!".  
"Just kidding".  
The dark clothed boy grunted while his mate chuckled, both having started walking to the dining room. While what they had done could possibly have led to some romantic thing, none of them could deny the fact that it had been an experience.


End file.
